Notre Dame: Not Playing Like Champions Today

Syracuse is set to play Notre Dame on October 1, and suddenly it’s looking like the Irish could be down at least a few important players. Rudy would not approve of some recent behavior from six members of the team, including starters Devin Butler (don’t worry, not our Devin Butler) and Max Redfield.

Kind of amazingly, the players were arrested in separate incidents, with Butler being picked up for resisting and battery of a police officer (yikes!), while Redfield and four other members of the team were pulled over and marijuana and a handgun were found in the car. Making matters worse for Redfield, along with his fellow car occupants Ashton White, Kevin Stepherson, Dexter Williams, and Te’von Coney, is that the gun was unlicensed.

Butler, a starting cornerback for the Irish, was actually already expected to miss the first month of the season due to injury. But now, he could face dismissal from the school. Notre Dame students who are arrested for felonies face expulsion.

Meanwhile, Redfield – a starting safety – and his four teammates were pulled over for doing 73 in a 60 MPH zone, and that’s when the drugs and gun were discovered in the vehicle. It will be interesting to see what, if any, on-field penalties Redfield and the other four players in the car face. It’s certainly possible that they could face suspension but still be back in time for the Syracuse game, which comes in week five of the season.

Redfield was Notre Dame’s fourth leading tackler last season, and is a two-year starter. If, and it’s probably a fairly large if, Redfield and Butler wind up out for the Syracuse game, it comes in an area of the Notre Dame defense that could work in the Orange’s favor. With a high octane passing attack, it’d probably be less than ideal for the Irish to be down two starters in the secondary, after all.

Jeff is a 2003 graduate of Syracuse University, and has been published on various websites including Cracked.com, Spike.com, TheSportster.com, Gunaxin.com, and TopTenz.net, among others. His work was featured in the New York Times bestselling book You Might Be a Zombie and Other Bad News. He's got a wife, and a toddler he's brainwashing to love Syracuse. Jeff's a pretty great guy, overall, and would never steal your car. Follow him on Twitter: @jekelish